USA > Iowa > Webster County > Fort Dodge > History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 24
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Patrick Burke was reared at home and educated in the public schools of Webster county, where he has spent his entire life. He remained with his parents upon the home farm until he at- tained his majority, subsequently establishing himself in the mer- cantile business, when he formed a partnership with Tom Con- nors in the conduct of a general store and the association con- tinued for a year and a half, after which Mr. Burke purchased Mr. Connors' interest and has since continued the enterprise alone. He is at present located upon the site where his business was founded in 1888. He has met with some reverses but has on the whole been unusually successful. His store and some of his stock were destroyed by fire on June 10, 1902, when the entire business section of the village was wiped out with a loss to the community of thirty thousand dollars. Fifteen substantial build- ings were burned to the ground, among them Mr. Burke's store. He immediately afterward erected a fine, one-story brick building which he now occupies. He owns the double brick structure ad- joining this and is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Com- pany and the Barnum Telephone Company. He has been very successful, having founded his prosperity upon high standards of commercial honor and integrity. He has never sold his home farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Calhoun county and this is now an additional source of income to him.
In his political affiliations Mr. Burke is a consistent republican and has served as secretary of the Barnum school board for twenty years and also did able work as a member of the town council. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Modern Woodmen of America. He has built up gradually an enterprise which is now important in retail trade circles of Barnum, seeking no success more conspicuous than that which he has attained in his reputation as a clean and practical business man.
EDWARD BURGFRIED.
The late Edward Burgfried was one of the natives of Germany, who came to America practically empty-handed and through his inherent diligence and thrift ultimately became numbered among the prosperous agriculturists of Webster county, owning at the
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time of his demise two hundred and forty acres of well cultivated land in Douglas township. His natal day was in March, 1843, and his parents Dominicus and Margaret (Mangold) Burgfried, who passed their entire lives in Germany, where the father fol- lowed the profession of architecture.
The first thirty-one years in the life of Edward Burgfried were passed in the land of his birth. Feeling convinced at the ex- piration of that time that America afforded better opportunities to the enterprising man than were to be found in his native land he took passage with his wife and family for the United States. They located in Fort Dodge, this county, in 1874 and there for three years he followed the carpenter's trade. He next turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and in 1877 rented a farm in Douglas township, in the cultivation of which he met with such success that the next year he was able to buy an eighty acre tract. He kept on increasing his holdings from time to time, as he was able, until he held the title to two hundred and forty acres. He engaged in the development of his property until his death, which resulted from an accident, on the 23d of October, 1883. He was plowing a field, and had taken with him to his work a gun in order that he might shoot any game he saw; in some way it was discharged and he was instantly killed.
In Germany in November, 1867, Mr. Burgfried was united in marriage to Miss Crescenzia Knoevley, a daughter of Jacob and Rosina (Egenter) Knoevley. The father, who was a farmer, en- gaged in agricultural pursuits in his native land until about fif- teen years prior to his death, which occurred in January, 1890. The mother, who has now attained the venerable age of ninety years, still makes her home in Germany. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Burgfried, as follows: Theodore, who died in Germany in 1869; Cireak, who died in 1871; Max, who is a farmer in South Dakota; Edward, who lives at home; Theo- dore, who is a resident of Des Moines; Mary Frances, the wife of William Murphy, a farmer of Douglas township; Joseph and George, who are at home; Rosina, the wife of James Dwyer, of Johnson township; and Adolph E., who is attending the State University.
Mrs. Burgfried, who is now sixty-five years of age, having been born on the 17th of December, 1847, is a woman of unusual ex- ecutive and business ability. After the death of her husband, to- gether with her sons she continued the operation of the farm.
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As she is practical and a capable manager she prospered in her undertakings, and has added to her acreage until she owns five hundred and sixty acres of highly improved land.
In matters of faith Mr. Burgfried was a Roman Catholic, as are also his widow and family, while his political support he ac- corded to the republican party. He was a man of many excel- lent qualities and was highly esteemed in his community, where he had shown himself to be honorable and upright in all matters of business, and was in every way a desirable citizen.
CHARLES FAVERSHAM DUNCOMBE.
The history of Fort Dodge bears evidence of the professional and commercial activity of Charles Faversham Duncombe, who since 1884 has been identified with journalistic interests here and at the same time has become a factor in the manufacturing and financial circles of the city. He was here born February 20, 1864, a son of John Francis and Mary A. Duncombe. The father was a prominent and influential resident of Fort Dodge, where he settled in April, 1855, becoming a pioneer lawyer of this then frontier village. He was born October 22, 1831, in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania, and was educated in Allegheny College of Mead- ville, Pennsylvania, and Central University of Danville, Kentucky. He read law in his native town and for a year practiced in Penn- sylvania, but in April, 1855, came to Fort Dodge, where he won prominence in professional circles. In 1857, when the news of the Spirit Lake massacre reached this city, he was active in rais- ing troops to march against the Indians and as captain of a com- pany went to the defense of the frontier. In 1858 he wedded Mary A. Williams, daughter of Major William Williams. The following year he was elected to the state senate and later was twice a member of the lower house. In 1872 he was chairman of the Iowa delegation to the national democratic convention at Baltimore, and in 1892 was selected to present the name of Horace Boies before the national democratic convention of that year for president. He served for sixteen years as regent of the State University and at the same time he continued a prominent repre- sentative of his profession, serving for thirty-six years as attorney for the Iowa division of the Illinois Central Railroad, also as
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attorney for the Mason City & Fort Dodge Railroad, the Des Moines & Fort Dodge and the Cherokee & Dakota Railroads, practicing over twenty-five counties in the state. He was also a leading factor in the development of the coal interests of his part of Iowa and as such contributed largely to material progress. His labors were indeed a large factor in the growth and upbuild- ing of the section in which he lived and his intense business and professional activity were combined with a high sense of honor that made him one of the most esteemed citizens of Fort Dodge. His wife, who came to this city with her parents in March, 1855, is now president of the Webster County Historical Society. John F. Duncombe was a charter member of the chapter and com- mandery of the Masonic fraternity here and was also a Scottish Rite Mason. In politics he was a stalwart democrat. He re- mained a resident of Webster county until his death, which oc- curred August 2, 1902. In the family were three sons and two daughters : William E., Charles F., Mary J., Gertrude and John A.
Charles F. Duncombe pursued his education in public and private schools and in the State University but did not reach graduation. He was a young man of but twenty years when he became identified with the publication of a newspaper in Fort Dodge and he has since been closely associated with journalistic interests here, being now sole owner of the Fort Dodge Daily Chronicle, which is one of the best known and leading journals of the state. In its columns he has discussed vital public ques- tions relating to municipal affairs and to state and national wel- fare. His position has always been characterized by a progres- siveness that has its root in practical methods. In business cir- cles, too, Mr. Duncombe has made a creditable name and place for himself. For fourteen years he was actively identified with the manufacture of gypsum products and in addition to being a stockholder in the United States Gypsum Company he is also financially interested in the Monarch Telephone Company, the Fort Dodge National Bank and in farm lands, beside owning town property, including the building which is the home of the Chronicle.
In public office Mr. Duncombe has also left the impress of his individuality upon the welfare of the city. He was postmaster from 1894 until 1898 and mayor from 1906 until 1908, when he declined to become a candidate for reelection. In 1908 he was honored by the democrats of Iowa by being named as one of the
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four delegates-at-large to the Denver convention. At the present writing he is president of the school board, a director of the Chautauqua Association and a director of the Country Club, all of which goes to show the nature and breadth of his interests. His military history covers service as first sergeant of the first company organized in Fort Dodge. His political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party and he is well known in fraternal relations, holding membership with the Knights of Pythias, the Red Men and the Moose. Of the first named he has been chancellor commander and keeper of the records and seals.
On the 22d of November, 1887, at Fort Dodge, Mr. Duncombe was united in marriage to Miss Antoinette Hull, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George M. Hull. The father, who was a leading dry-goods merchant here, died in December, 1884, and the mother, who had lived here from her childhood, coming with her parents from Harvard, Illinois, passed away on the 17th of September, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Duncombe have two children, John Faver- sham and Carl Milton. The family attend the Episcopal church, of which Mr. Duncombe and his wife are members, and Mr. Duncombe also is a vestryman. They have been lifelong resi- dents of this city and have a circle of friends here almost coex- tensive with the circle of their acquaintance. His varied business interests and his official service have brought him prominently before the public and none question the sincerity of his interest in the welfare of the municipality, for this has found tangible proof in his many acts for the city's good.
VICTOR BROWN DOLLIVER.
Victor Brown Dolliver was a representative of the highest type of citizenship. He stood for those things which are most worth while in life-the highest physical, mental and moral development-and his beliefs and sympathies found expression in tangible effort for the good of his fellowmen. He worked for the benefit of the majority in his political activity, in the church and in many other ways, ever progressing toward the high ideals which he had set up. He was born in Kingwood, West Virginia, March 18, 1861, a son of the Rev. James Jones and Eliza Jane (Brown) Dolliver. He was early possessed of a
VICTOR B. DOLLIVER
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
AS O . I VOX AND TILD N FOUNDATIONS.
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desire for an education and walked from five to seven miles to attend elementary schools. He afterward availed himself of the opportunity of pursuing a three years' course at the State Normal School at Fair- mont, West Virginia, and he also attended De Pauw University at Greencastle, Indiana. He at length completed a course in Cornell Col- lege at Mount Vernon, Iowa, in 1887 and was graduated from the Columbia Law School at Washington, D. C., in 1891. He became widely and favorably known through his efforts in the field of teaching. He was principal of the public schools in Gowrie, Iowa, and afterward accepted the position of principal of the Methodist Seminary in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the latter position he came in close contact with Mormonism and was a leader of the Gentile element in opposition to the admission of Utah as a state because of the power which would thus be given to Mormon influence. His wise and judicious invest- ments in real estate at length made him an extensive landowner, for as he profited in one sale he would make further purchases until his hold- ings were large and important.
Mr. Dolliver's boyhood days, spent upon the borderland between the great contending sections of the country, gave him a hatred for slavery and a love for the Union that resulted in his becoming an ardent advocate of republican principles. With him, to believe in a cause was to espouse it and he became a prominent political speaker, holding the attention of his auditors when he addressed them upon the vital and living questions of the time.
In 1896 Mr. Dolliver was married to Miss Augusta Larrabee, the eldest daughter of ex-Governor Larrabee, of Iowa. During her father's four years' term as governor of the state she was prominent and popular in the social circles of the capital, winning the love and friendship of all with whom she came in contact not only among the residents of Des Moines but throughout Iowa as well.
Mr. Dolliver was a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal church and one of the most prominent laymen in that denomination in Iowa. He went as a member to the general conference in Los Angeles, California, in 1904 and he was unfailing in his efforts to promote the upbuilding of the church in every possible way. From the time of his wife's death in 1899 he seemed to live for others rather than himself. He was continually helping the poor, visiting the sick, sending beauti- ful flowers to cheer the sickroom or speaking words of comfort and peace to the sufferer. He loved his church and had made extensive
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plans for its future that its work might be extended and its influence broadened. A gift of ten thousand dollars to Morningside College a few months before his death was one of his last important efforts to promote the growth of the church. His life was indeed of far-reaching influence and benefit, and the world is better for his having lived.
AUGUST MOLLENHOFF.
August Mollenhoff is among the well known farmers of Webster county, where he is successfully engaged in the cultivation of a highly developed farm of one hundred and twenty acres located on section 21, Burnside township. He was born in Andover, Henry county, Illi- nois, September 5, 1862, and is a son of Hans and Sophia ( Larson) Mollenhoff, both of whom were natives of Sweden. The father came to America about 1850, coming to Andover, where he married in 1853, and went to Pike's Peak, Colorado, at the time of the gold ex- citement in 1858. He remained there for two years and then returned to Andover, Henry county, Illinois, where he took up employment as a mail carrier and in that occupation continued for a period of ten years. He was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Larson, a daughter of Peter Larson, who emigrated to America and settled in Andover, Henry county, Illinois, in 1849. It took six months to make the trip from Sweden, fourteen weeks of which were spent crossing the Atlantic. Peter Larson was first married in Sweden and had a family of two daughters and one son. His wife died at the time he emigrated to America and was buried at sea and he later married Sophia Anderson, and to that union one daughter was born. The mother died and Mr. Larson was later married and to his third union a large family was born. He died in Andover, Henry county, and was there buried. To Mr. and Mrs. Hans Mollenhoff six children were born. J. P., who is engaged in the drug business in Stanton, Iowa. married Clara Anderson, of Geneseo, Illinois. Sarah, who became the wife of .\. W. Johnson, of Andover, passed away in December, 1884, at the age of twenty-four, leaving one son, Reuben, and was buried near McPherson, Kansas. August, the subject of our sketch, is the next in order of birth. Matilda is the wife of Alfred Rosenquist and resides in Burnside township. Ernest, who is engaged in the produce business, married Sadie Freed, a daughter of C. J.
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Freed, and resides in Stanton, Iowa. Edward wedded Emma Peter- son and resides on the old home farm. The father of this family, Hans Mollenhoff, came to Burnside in 1881 and died at the age of eighty-one and was buried at Dayton cemetery. At the time of his death he owned a farm of one hundred and twenty acres adjoining the town of Burnside. He also owned land near Lehigh, but never improved the property as it was heavily timbered and the annual in- crease in timber value was sufficient to make it a good investment without in any way, disturbing its condition. This property is now owned by his widow, who resides with her daughter, Mrs. Alfred Rosenquist.
August Mollenhoff was reared in his parents' home and received his elementary education in Henry county, Illinois. At the age of about eighteen he settled in Burnside township, Webster county, Iowa, where he was engaged at work for a number of years, after which he removed to Omaha, Nebraska, and after spending five years in that city, he returned to Burnside township and later lived for one year in Gowrie, Iowa, where he was engaged in the paint and furniture business. He then returned to Burnside, where hie established a furniture store, which he conducted for one year. He then purchased from E. H. Litchfield one hundred and twenty acres of unimproved land located on section 21, Burnside township, where he established his home and has since continued to reside. He has improved the place with suitable farm buildings and has also planted ornamental and fruit trees of various kinds. The county ditch crosses Mr. Mol- eight hundred dollars. In addition to the drainage value of that ditch lenhoff's farm, the expense of which to him in assessed taxes was he has also thoroughly tiled the entire place. He raises mixed grains and also makes a specialty of pure-bred Hereford cattle and hogs.
Mr. Mollenhoff was united in marriage to Miss Emily Anderson, a native of Sweden. Her father is deceased but her mother still lives in Sweden. To Mr. and Mrs. Mollenhoff six children have been born : Laura, who is attending Tobin College; Alma, a pupil in the public schools of Burnside township; and Raymond, Harley, Mabel and Clarence, aged respectively thirteen, eleven, eight and six years, all of whom are attending school. Mr. Mollenhoff at one time was affiliated with the republican party and served as constable of his township for ten years, and was justice of the peace for one term and has been a school director for seven years. He is at present affiliated with the republican party and he and his family are members of the Lutheran
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church. Mr. Mollenhoff is numbered among the very successful farmers of Burnside township and is a man who is highly respected for his integrity in all business transactions and who by public opinion is placed among the useful citizens of his part of the state.
EDGAR H. WILLIAMS.
Edgar H. Williams is well known in business circles of Fort Dodge as secretary, treasurer and manager of the E. H. Williams Lumber Company, which concern he organized. His birth occurred in Bur- lington, Wisconsin, on the 22d of May, 1868, his parents being Ed- gar and Cornelia (Law) Williams, both of whom were natives of New York. His paternal grandfather, a native of Wales, and an agriculturist by occupation, became an early settler of Bartlett, Oneida county, New York. Both he and his wife attained a ripe old age and reared a large family of children. George W. Law, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of New York, and a farmer by occupation. Both he and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Harriet Blakesley, were well advanced in years when called to their final rest. Their children were eight in number.
Edgar Williams, the father of E. H. Williams, was reared in Oneida county, New York, and became an early settler of Burlington, Wisconsin, where he embarked in business as a manufacturer of farming implements, carriages and wagons. He there passed away in 1871, at the comparatively early age of thirty-seven years. His widow is still living and makes her home at Canastota, New York. He gave his political allegiance to the republican party, was a Baptist in religious faith and fraternally was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His widow is also a devoted member of the Baptist church. Their children were five in number, namely: Rhoda Gertrude, who is the widow of W. E. Barott and resides in Canas- tota, New York; Clarence B., who makes his home at Morningside, Sioux City, Iowa; Florence J., who is the widow of E. A. Haines and lives in Canastota, New York; Edgar H., of this review ; and Charles, who died at the age of three years.
Edgar H. Williams, whose name introduces this review, was three years of age when his father died and when taken by his widowed mother to Bartlett, New York, where he grew to manhood. He pur- sued his early education in the common schools, later attended the
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Canastota high school and then continued his studies in Cook Academy at Havana, New York. He spent two winters as a district schoolteacher and in 1888 came to Iowa, operating a farm in Douglas township, Webster county, for three years. On the expiration of that period he took up his abode in Fort Dodge and for nine years acted as manager of the lumberyard owned by G. W. Mason. During the following year he had charge of four yards in southern Iowa and subsequently spent five years as manager of the Citizens Lumber Com- pany of Fort Dodge and four years as manager for the Townsend & Merrill Company of this city. Feeling that his capital and experience justified him in embarking in business on his own account, he then or- ganized the E. H. Williams Lumber Company, of which he has been the secretary, treasurer and manager to the present time. He is a man of splendid business ability and sound judgment, and under his direction the enterprise has enjoyed continued growth and success.
On the 18th of July, 1892, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Carrie E. Winter, who was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on the Ioth of October, 1869, her parents being William and Anna (Terry) Winter, both deceased. The father was a native of Eng- land and the mother of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. They had six children, as follows: Carrie E .; James; Florence ; William; Adelia; and Anna, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have one son, Robert Law, whose natal day was June 7, 1895.
In politics Mr. Williams is a republican and for nine years he has been a member of the school board. He is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Ashlar Lodge, No. III, F. & A. M., and also to the chapter, R. A. M. He is a deacon in the Baptist church, to which his wife also belongs. Throughout the period of his residence in Fort Dodge, covering about a quarter of a century, Mr. Williams has maintained an unassailable reputation for business en- terprise and probity, while the sterling worth of his character has gained him the friendship of those with whom he has come into contact.
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CURTIS G. MESSEROLE.
Curtis G. Messerole is one of the enterprising citizens of Webster county, located at Gowrie, and is successfully engaged in the grain and lumber business. lle was born in Clayton county, Iowa, Janu- ary 3, 1864, and is a son of Jacob and Mary (Abbott) Messerole.
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The paternal grandparent was of Welch stock, being born in Brooklyn, New York, settling later in Ohio, where his family was reared, moving subsequently to Michigan, where he died at the ad- vanced age of ninety-four years. The father was a native of Brook- lyn, New York, moving with his parents to Ohio, where he resided until 1852, when he moved with his wife and one child to Clayton county, Iowa. He later went to Manchester, in Delaware county, where he engaged in the coal, wood and ice business, also being the owner of two farms, including two hundred acres of land in Dela- ware county. The mother was a native of Ohio and was descended from Puritan stock. They were the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this review was the youngest.
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